1. List Of Nascar Drivers Salaries

1. NASCAR player transactions, contracts and yearly salaries all in one place!
2. The top NASCAR drivers in the US earn in the tens of millions, between winnings, sponsorship and endorsements. In 2009 NASCAR's highest-paid driver was Dale Earnhardt Jr. Who reportedly earned $30 million.

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You want to become a famous NASCAR driver and earn millions? Be prepared for a lot of hard work and luck.

Job Description

Professional NASCAR drivers strive to win races while making split-second decisions at speeds over 200 MPH. Drivers must be in top physical condition and have quick reflexes. Today's drivers are slim with toned muscles.

Top 50 Race Car Drivers. Salary and career earnings: Fernando Alonso is a Spanish race car driver who has a net worth of $240 million and annual salary. Jeff Gordon is an American NASCAR.

In addition to driving race cars, drivers make public appearances to promote their sponsors, team and NASCAR. They must be available to answer questions from fans and sign autographs. Drivers are not just skilled in racing at high speeds, they are also entertainers who please their audiences with their personalities.

Education Requirements

The path to becoming a NASCAR driver is long and arduous. Many drivers start off at a very early age racing go-karts, then they move up to full-size cars.

List Of Nascar Drivers Salaries

You must enroll in a racing school, such as the course offered by the Sports Car Club of America, and earn a competition license to enter races. Aspiring drivers participate in as many races as they can afford to gain experience and recognition.

Drivers must have a thorough understanding of every system in a car and how they work. Attending an automotive training school, such as the NASCAR Technical Institute, is the best way to get this technical knowledge. While all racing teams have sophisticated technology and equipment, they still rely on feedback from the drivers to tell them how the car is performing.

A college degree is not required, but it's good to have one in case the racing career doesn't work out.

Industry and Salaries

Salaries and earnings of NASCAR drivers fall into two categories: (1) those top drivers who make millions each year and (2) those drivers who are only earning five or six figures and hoping to make millions.

This is a list of the top earners:

• Dale Earnhardt: $22 million
  
• Jimmie Johnson: $19.2 million
  
• Kyle Busch: $14.7 million
  
• Denny Hamlin: $14.6 million
  
• Kevin Harvick: $13.6 million
  
• Brad Keselowski: $11.2 million
  
• Kasey Kahne: $11.2 million
  
• Danica Patrick: $10.3 million
  
• Joey Logano: $10.2 million
  
• Kyle Larson: $10.1 million
  
• Martin Truex: $9.9 million
  
• Matt Kenseth: $9.0 million
  

Years of Experience

Starting at an early age, aspiring drivers hone their skills racing go-karts, midget cars, trucks, open-wheel cars and stock cars. They race on dirt tracks, ovals and rally courses before moving on to modern, asphalt super raceways.

The number of years that it takes depends on how quickly a driver can develop his skills and start winning races to gain recognition. Eventually, a driver will need to attract a sponsor who will be willing to invest large amounts of money to support a team.

Job Growth Trend or Outlook

International Speedway Corporation is the publicly traded corporation that owns and operates NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series. Attendance at its 13 racetracks has been stagnant for the past several years. The amount of money contributed by sponsors of cars has also been declining. NASCAR racing is also facing competition from other entertainment venues, especially with the millennial generation more interested in digital products.

While ISC is taking steps to increase attendance and revenues, the prospects for growth are not promising. Nevertheless, the car racing teams are always on the lookout for promising, upcoming drivers. Older drivers are retiring and new ones will take their places.

Becoming a famous NASCAR driver is a dream of many kids now motoring around in go-karts. Top drivers earn millions of dollars in salary, bonuses from wins and sponsorship of products. Hopeful drivers can count on spending a lot of their own money, and many hours on short, dirt tracks before racing on the asphalt at a 2 1/2 mile NASCAR super track.

About the Author

James Woodruff has been a management consultant to more than 1,000 small businesses. As a senior management consultant and owner, he used his technical expertise to conduct an analysis of a company's operational, financial and business management issues. James has been writing business and finance related topics for work.chron, bizfluent.com, smallbusiness.chron.com and e-commerce websites since 2007. He graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and received an MBA from Columbia University.

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[An] increasingly worrying lack of TV viewership coupled with a general investment pullback from sponsors and team owners has put NASCAR in a tight spot. The top eight NASCAR teams are now worth an average $158 million, down 2% from last year.

Perhaps the most worrying indicator is that some of NASCAR's biggest sponsors, the very lifeblood of the sport, have been scaling back their investments. Miller Lite, which has been a partner of Team Penske for nearly three decades, recently renewed its sponsorship agreement but dropped its seasonal commitment from 24 races to just 11 races.

And a significant number of sponsors have even walked away from the sport entirely: Target, Subway, Dollar General and Cheerios have all jumped ship in the last two years. Things aren't any better at the league level. Last year the series saw a significant drop in revenue from its title sponsorship after Monster took over for Sprint, and a few months ago Coors Light ended its partnership as NASCAR's official beer; that deal has yet to be replaced.

Last year Roush Fenway Racing leased one of its three charters, and this year the team sold that charter off, permanently scaling down to two cars. Once the most valuable team in NASCAR, Roush now ranks sixth with a value of $140 million, down 55% from $313 million a decade ago. Richard Childress Racing is also running just two cars this year, Richard Petty Motorsports is down to one and even Furniture Row Racing, which won last year's championship, has ditched one of its charters and returned to being a one-car outfit.

The good news is that the trio of Hendrick, Gibbs and Stewart-Haas, Nascar's three most valuable teams, continue to fund robust four-car garages, though with slightly leaner bottom lines (the three had combined operating income of $17 million last year, down from $36 million the year before). Team Penske has also expanded operations this year, buying a third charter before the season. The new No. 12 car is being driven by Ryan Blaney, who appears destined for success after dominating much of Sunday's Daytona 500. The team is now worth $142 million, up 5% over last year.

--- Forbes ---

AND Dale Earnhardt retired at the end of the 2017 Nascar season after nearly two decades in the spotlight as the most famous progeny in the sport. Earnhardt failed to rich Victory Lane last year, but he cemented his spot at the top among fans with his 15th straight year winning NASCAR Most Popular Driver award. He was named on 68% of the votes cast by fans.

Earnhardt also nabbed another title before taking his talents to the NBC broadcast booth. The 43-year-old recaptured his place as the highest-earning driver in his swansong season after a one-year hiatus where Jimmie Johnson usurped him. Earnhardt earned $22 million in 2017 by Forbes' count, thanks to NASCAR highest salary and top merchandise sales.